10 minutes of Astral Chain gameplay has just been released on Nintendo’s official Japanese YouTube channel, and it looks just as fun and stylish (and quite similar) to PlatinumGames’ Bayonetta. After the initial excitement it garnered it its brief preview in E3, the recently released video showcases more gameplay mechanics.
Set in the near future within the fictional city of Ark, a portal to another dimension is opened and with it comes dangerous monsters that strike chaos across the city. The normal police cannot compete with these forces, so a brand new, special police unit named Neuron is created to battle these threats. You play as a rookie police offer immersed in the invasion and it is up to you to save the world.
Just like any other PlatinumGames title that is known for its signature fast paced, hack and slash approach to combat, the video shows that Astral Chain keeps the same style and introduces new mechanics to keep gameplay interesting. One such introduction is the chain mechanic, which is introduced by explaining that you trained the monsters you’ve captured and have them fight with you. By having these monsters (called Legion) on a leash similar to walking your dog, you can launch different attacks such as wrapping, tripping or clotheslining your enemies to oblivion.
You can control the Legion using one Joy-Con and your character on the other. Takahisa Taura, director for the game and best known for his work on Nier Automata, says this is a sneaky way to add co-op to a single player game. By disconnecting your Joy-Con and having a friend control your Legion, it can prove to be quite fun and challenging.
In an interview with Kotaku, he explained how this would work:
“If you’re going for a high score, it’s challenging to do this, playing in two-player," Taura said. "As one example, while you’re playing the game, there are several synchronous moments where you’re doing attacks with the Legion at the same time. And if you’re playing two-player, the other player and you—actually, it’s almost like you would actually have to be of the same mind.”
Aside from your typical hack-and-slash action, the game also offers customization options for your character and the ability to choose which Legion you’ll take on a stroll, which requires some strategy depending on the situation.
Astral Chain launches on August 30 for the Nintendo Switch.
